Steelers' President Art Rooney II Expressed Little Worry At All About The Timeline To Extend Mike Tomlin Beyond 2023

Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin enters his 17th year behind the bench in 2023 and the veteran coach is not going anywhere anytime soon. It was reported that the team isn't yet looking into extending him even though his contract is up at the end of 2024. Team President Art Rooney II seemingly brushed off any notion that Tomlin wouldn't stay with the team past his current deal. 

Rooney II joined former Pittsburgh lineman Max Starks and team reporter Mike Prisuta on Steelers Live during the first day of training camp to preview the season. He touched on several things during the conversation, including some of his early memories of attending training camp as a ball boy when legendary coach Chuck Noll was running the show, and addressed the contract situation for the second-longest tenured head coach in the league. 

"We have done the contract at different points and people seem to read more into that than is warranted," Rooney said. "The contract will get done when it needs to get done."

According to Spotrac, Tomlin has signed four different extensions with the team since he was initially hired by the organization in January 2007. He re-upped with a year remaining on his contract in 2010 by signing a three-year extension. It was more of the same in 2012, with a single year left on his deal Tomlin signed on for another three years. In 2017, the team inked Tomlin to another three-year deal that carried to the 2020 season and then handed him another four-year extension in the spring of 2021. 

Steelers General Manager Omar Khan was asked during his first press conference at St. Vincent College about the status of his head coach and expressed optimism that he and Tomlin would be working together for the foreseeable future. Rooney agreed that it will be Khan and Tomlin running the show for much longer than the contract that is in place right now.

Steelers President Hoping For A Quick Start In 2023

Both Tomlin and Khan talked about feeling good going into camp and enjoying the vibes around the group. Rooney said he's also feeling good about getting things rolling.

"Most importantly, I think our players are looking forward to starting the season and our fans are really excited it seems," he said. "There's a really great buzz in the air around town and here at camp, so hopefully we'll get off to a great start."    

Rooney highlighted he's looking forward to seeing big steps forward from second-year players, especially quarterback Kenny Pickett. He said elsewhere he's excited to watch how some of the additions from outside the organization, be it via trade or free agency, find their places on the team. Finally, he said it'll be fun for him to watch as all the new guys and draft picks mesh with the group and develop over the next couple of weeks in camp. 

Rooney said that he along with Khan and Tomlin had developed priorities they wanted to address in the offseason and were able to execute on them. He said he thinks that being able to have followed the plan they set immediately following last season for a vision of what next year's team has been a major factor in the optimism surrounding the team. 

The Steelers face a tough test in Week 1 with the San Francisco 49ers coming to town with starting quarterback Brock Purdy on track to return. The team hosts the Cleveland Browns in Week 2 for the first of two showdowns between the AFC North foes. The team then goes on the road for the next two weeks for games against the Las Vegas Raiders and Houston Texans before hosting the Baltimore Ravens and then having a bye. It's a manageable stretch to start the season, but certainly won't be easy. 

Are you worried about a Mike Tomlin extension? Does Rooney's comments change your feelings? Comment below!

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